Carley’s Personal Care Schedule Greet the Sun I have to mention that I greet the Sun every morning as I wake up the Angel that lives in my home. She wakes with a smile and brings her love to us. Every person assisting her needs to know that .You are to treat her with respect and dignity and listen to her requests for assistance. That is the whole purpose of this program. We are here to assist Carley in her life and personal care. 1. Morning is a delightful part of the day as Carley rarely wakes without a smile. If she is unhappy in the morning something is wrong and you need to ask for assistance from family right away. We awaken her with a soft voice by simply saying “good morning Carley.” She does not like to be startled awake. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. 2. After a 5-minute wake-up time, we ask Carley, “Are you ready to get up?” She will reply with a head shake “yes” or “no.” If she answers “no,” give her 5 more minutes and a then a cue, “It is time to start your PCA Program.” She will rarely take more than one prompt. (Remember, cues are requests and suggestions, not commands.) 3. Now it is time for a transfer to her wheelchair. She is continent and will need to go directly to the bathroom. (Carley is continent, but is not like everyone else. She is an individual and needs to be seen in that light. She has an urgency problem. This means she cannot hold her urine or bowel movement like other people. When she has to go, we need to assist her, and get her to the bathroom promptly.) Now we can start the transfer, being aware that we need to work together with Carley to get her to the bathroom. I always remind her that it is time to set up now in order to cue her that we need to move together. (You could say, “Let’s move together.”) I drop the rail down on the side of the bed. Then I slide her feet to the edge of the bed and guide them down toward the floor. I put my hands under her arms and raise her to a sitting position on her bed. She is pretty good at sitting on her own, but because she has Cerebral Palsy, I would never leave her sitting unassisted. Go directly into the transfer to the wheelchair. Cue her here by saying, “Lean forward to stand.” Now, with your hands under her arms above her waist, pull her forward and up to stand. She will use her body to assist and will come to her feet. Now pivot one step with your left foot until you are standing in front of the chair with Carley between you and the chair. Then cue her by saying, “Could you sit now?” Put her feet on the foot rests and secure them with the straps. Adjust her in her seat with her bottom against the back of the wheelchair. Always buckle her seatbelt for safety. Tell her you will meet her in the bathroom. She can drive herself there. Do not do any other tasks. Go to the bathroom and assist Carley to transfer to the toilet. 4. Toileting is done several times daily. Always the urgency issue should put toileting at the top priority over other tasks.
Carley says, “I need to go to the bathroom” in several different ways. It is her PCA’s responsibility to read sign language or hear the verbal request. A. Carley’s sign for bathroom is a closed fist rotated back and forth. Sometimes when things get urgent she will just point to her private area and say “now” on her talker. B. She can say “I want to go to the bathroom” on her Eco Talker. Most of the time she will communicate her request this way. She, however, does not have the talker in the shower or in bed at times, so pay attention to her and you will be able hear or see when she need assistance in this area. C. Transfer to the toilet is done similarly to the one done from the bed. Once Carley has parked, release her feet from the foot rests and put them up out of the way to prevent her catching her feet on them during the transfer. (Because of the poor circulation of most quadriplegics, a small scratch or bruise can take a month or more to heal. Prevention can be its own reward!) Keep the same cue as in the bedroom lift - “Come to stand” or “stand now.” Put your hands under her arms and use the cue. “Come to stand.” She will lean forward and stand with your support. Then use your left foot and step in front of the toilet. Pull down her pants and then cue her with “sit now.” Working together is the way this is best accomplished. Boost her back on the seat so her bottom is touching the toilet seat at her back. (Dragging her though the transfer eliminates the many steps of selfaccomplishment that Carley has gained. Although the results may seem the same, you have deleted her part in life skills by not including her work effort. I also need to say doing a transfer by dragging can cause you injury, which we hope to avoid.)] D. Carley cannot wipe herself. She needs you to do this task for her. We have already done trials to teach this skill and know for sure that you are the provider of this service to Carley. Please wipe from the back by letting her support herself on the railing provided in front of the toilet. First, use toilet paper and then use a wipe and dispose of it in the basket provided. (If you do not do this task correctly, she will blister in her private area. Heat builds while a person sits in a leather seat all day. Urine can cause serious burning.) You are done with the first step in her program. She is up and toileted. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes. Now you will move to bathing, dressing and breakfast. Bathing -Dressing Bathing There are two ways in which we bath Carley, a shower and the sponge bath. Before each bath or shower, all Carley’s personal care items and products will be put within her reach. She will make her own choices as to what items need to be used. We will start with the shower. Carley has an adapted shower that has a slight slope toward the rear of the shower stall. This helps the water to go toward the drain in the center back of the
shower stall. The front of the shower itself is only about 1 1/2 inches from the floor, which makes the shower chair easy to roll into. The shower chair has armrests and is equipped with brakes to lock it into place. Carley is pivot-transferred into her power chair, after the shower chair brakes are locked and Carley parks her power chair directly beside the shower chair. The two chairs are now 2 feet in front of the shower facing it. There should be a towel on the back of the shower chair because the netting on the chair irritates Carley’s skin. One PCA will stand holding the shower chair to prevent slipping while the other PCA will side-transfer Carley to the shower chair. She will secure the safety belt. The power chair will be backed up and put out of the way. With one PCA in front and one PCA behind, the chair is guided into the shower. It is placed facing the shower head. We have been directed by our PCA program to always do a twoman transfer into the shower in this exact process. (This must be done!) Bathing in the shower begins with one of the PCAs in the shower with Carley. (Bring along a pair of shorts to use in the shower as you may get wet.) Carley will choose what shampoo to use, whether or not to use cream rinse, and which body wash she would like. She will also decide if she would like to be shaved or not. Cue her by asking what choices she would like to make. Always ask about the shaving because she goes through spurts of wanting to be shaved and not wanting to be shaved. Carley likes the water a little hotter than most people would like it but not hot. Wet her hair first. She has very thick hair and you will need to get it totally saturated or her hair will look oily after it dries. Have her tilt her head back slightly as you apply the shampoo to prevent soap going into her eyes. Put about 1/4 of a cup of shampoo in her hair. She has very thick hair and it needs to be lathered and scrubbed at the scalp to get out the oils that accumulate. Then rinse her hair for at least 8 to 10 minutes. She will get horrible dandruff if you leave any residue of shampoo in her hair. We now are ready to bathe her. First ask her if she would like to wash herself. She will point to her scrubber if she wants to do this or she will sign “no” if she does not want to. If she chooses to bathe, I give her the scrubber and she washes herself as far as she can reach and I pay attention to not rewash the areas she has done. She will hand you the scrubber when she is finished. You now will proceed to complete the shower by washing her back, under her arms, her arms and hands in between her fingers, her private areas, legs, feet and between her toes. (Carley is to be bathed completely. That is how she is use to being cared for. She will complain if you do not do a good job with the bathing.) After bathing, you will dry her off completely and do the two-man transfer you did to get her into the shower. One PCA will steady the shower chair and the other will do a slide-transfer to the power chair while both chairs are facing the front of the shower stall. Always remember to put a towel in the power chair so moisture does not get on her seat cushion before transferring Carley. Dressing Dressing is done after the shower chair is returned to the shower, the bath mat is put on the railing and Carley has parked next to the washer and dryer. Put Carley’s personal care products out where she can choose what she would like to use. She likes to have lotion put on, be perfumed, have deodorant put on and also direct her PCAs though her needs at her private time of the month. She is an individual with her own ideas and we like to give her the chance to express that. Consideration only takes a moment.
Sponge Bath Sponge baths usually happen when Carley is sick on shower day or when her appointments interfere with her shower. We do the sponge bath when she is done toileting in the morning. She is undressed just like for a shower, while sitting on the toilet. We have towels and washcloths laid out beforehand. We also put out the personal care products so she has the choice of what to use. Bath her completely, face to feet, and please use the washcloth to clean her belly button, her feet, ears and neck. (I always tell new workers to bathe Carley as you would want to be bathed if you were in the wheelchair.) When you are done bathing her, please dress her and return the personal care items to their places. FOOD PREPARATION ALL FOODS MUST BE PUREED! Carley cannot chew, so all foods have to be cooked soft and pureed. We use a blender or food processor to chop and blend foods to the consistency that is right for Carley to eat. We ask her what she wants if a meal is prepared for the family and there are some choices. If dressings are on the table, we ask if she would like them. For instance, she likes sour cream on meals with potatoes, vegetables and meat. Breakfast 1. Carley has instant oatmeal Monday, Wednesday and Friday for breakfast. She needs to eat this for roughage and fiber because most of her foods are processed. This oatmeal comes in flavors. I buy the brown sugar and apple and cinnamon, because she seems to be able to eat it without choking where others have not been as smooth for her to eat. 2. Carley also likes 3 or 4 toasted waffles cooked in the toaster. Put butter on them and blend them with milk to a smooth consistency. Then pour them in a bowl with maple syrup on top. Be moderate with the syrup as not to upset her sugar balance. 3. Carley likes cereal. We buy Cheerio's, Coco Puffs, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch or any cereal that will blend up to a smooth consistency. 1 1/2 cups cereal is put in the blender dry. Blend until smooth. You will need to stop and stir the contents of the blender several times before you arrive at the right texture. Pour into a bowl. Go though the bowl with your fingers, removing all lumps or large pieces from the bowl. (Remember that Carley cannot chew.) Pour milk over the cereal and let set for 5 minutes. The cereal will thicken. Stir and add more milk to make a smooth paste-like food (not watery, however). 4. Carley loves 2 eggs and toast made in the microwave or on the stove. Break 2 eggs in a bowl, put a little milk in (about 3 tablespoons), and whip the eggs until scrambled. Put the egg mixture in the microwave for 1 minute and stir. Return to the microwave for 1 minute. Now scramble the eggs until soft and fluffy, not hard. Put your eggs in the blender with 2 pieces of toast with butter on them. Blend with a little milk until smooth. Serve it to her hot. She would like juice or milk in a baby bottle or her adapted cut-away cup to drink. Carley Helps Cooking and PCA Supports Carley is capable of helping run the microwave and the blender, as well as the toaster, so when time allows, you should invite her to help with the cooking. Carley can stir, run the timer, and
pour foods, too! These activities build self-assurance and with PCA supports in place, allow Carley to fix her own meals. (Carley does not cook on the electric stove at all!) Carley will need to have 3 bibs put on before every meal, drink or snack. One bib is not enough. She will need her table tray put in place on her power chair at the start of each meal. She also uses a rubber non-slip pad that keeps her bowls from sliding away from her when she eats. She always uses a small spoon to eat. She drinks out of a baby bottle with a large hole in the nipple or her cut-away cup with a removable handle for cleaning. Make sure her power chair is turned off every time she is parked to prevent accidents. Lunch Lunch is a relatively easy meal because Carley likes to eat lightly at lunch. It should take about 3/4 of an hour to fix and for her to eat it. It will take 1/4 of an hour for clean-up. 1. She likes yogurt that is served in a bowl. The amount of yogurt is about 3/4 of a cup. She will drink milk or juice (let her choose) served in the baby bottle or cut-away cup (about 6 to 8 oz.). 2. She may choose a peanut butter and jelly or banana sandwich. This is made by putting two pieces of bread, 1/3 cup milk, 2 tablespoons peanut butter and 2 tablespoons jelly or one small banana in the blender and pureeing. If it comes out too watery, add one more slice of bread to the mix. Serve in a bowl with juice or milk to drink. Sometimes hot chocolate is nice too! Give her choices. 3. Fruit drink is another choice for Carley for lunch. They are made with 1/2 cup of fresh fruit or the same of canned fruit (include the juice of the fruit), one egg whipped and heated in the microwave for 1 minute, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 cup milk, and 1/2 cup of yogurt. Blend at high speed until smooth. Serve in baby bottles. She likes this about once or twice a month. 4. Carley will sometimes ask for cereal for lunch. Check under “breakfast” to see how to prepare it. Dinner Dinner is usually shared with her family and it is the big meal of the day. We count on taking about 1hour for the meal. There will be meat, potatoes, vegetables, salads, pastas and many other combinations of foods. Use this rule: she can eat anything that can be pureed. Cut the food in small pieces and put it in blender. Even salad without nuts can be pureed (small amounts of salad with the rest of the food you are blending). Put all the food in the blender and puree to a smooth consistency, like pudding. Check though the prepared food as you put it in the bowl for lumps. Carley cannot chew so smooth means smooth…without any lumps. If you find lumps, remove or blend again. Carley loves rice with her meals and pasta. She does not like foods that are too hot in the spice department. TV dinners can be blended as well as canned soups. We also blend cheese and bean burritos. So experimenting is fine as long as the texture is smooth and she likes the taste.
The Routine for Bed 1. Carley needs to be taken to be toileted. After she is finished, we dress her in her PJs and brush her teeth. 2. Carley drives into her room and parks next to her bed. Pull the covers down to the foot of the bed. Now a pivot transfer is done to her bed (by now you have done lots of transfers). Set her on the side of the bed in a sitting position. Lay her back down and put her head on the pillow. Then swing her legs up onto the bed and cover her with her blankets. Now she will ask you for all of her safety items. a. Her Emergency Alert button needs to be next to her on the bedrail. b. The telephone needs to be put on her bed. c. The bed control for raising and lowering the bed needs to be put on the bed beside her. d. Her air mattress needs to be turned on. e. Her hand brace needs to be on the bed so she can use it when she is ready to put it on. f. Carley will want her TV channel changer - put it on the bed. g. Carley’s Eco Device should be where she can reach it. Now you are ready to turn off the light for her. She will not be able to reach it. Check the fire alarms twice weekly.